


Fast Colors and Promises

by jockwitch



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternative Universe - Twilight, College AU, Fluff, Found Family, Good, Good Parent Frank Kaspbrak, Grief/Mourning, Losers Club (IT) Friendship, M/M, Parent Death, Romance, Sonia Kaspbrak's A+ Parenting, Stephanie Meyer would probably hate this and you know what, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:28:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23456296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jockwitch/pseuds/jockwitch
Summary: When Eddie graduated high school last year, he never expected his life to turn out the way it did.He'd never expected that his dad would pass away in a freak accident, and that he'd have to move from his hometown of Phoenix to dreary Forks, Washington.He'd never expected to become the most interesting topic of a small town rumor mill.And he certainly never expected to fall in love with a vampire.Or, a Reddie Twilight AU.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	Fast Colors and Promises

**Author's Note:**

> After months of this consuming my brain, it's finally here! My eternal, vampiric gratitude to [Dana](https://twitter.com/karoIinadean) and [Marina](https://twitter.com/holIand1945) for 1) Making me watch all five of the twilight movies this year and exposing me to the greatest cinematic franchise of all time, and 2) For their invaluable plot, editing, and general encouragement as I write this at a snail's pace. It literally wouldn't have happened without either of them. I would stop a thousand vans for you two. 
> 
> (Title is from A thousand years by Christina Perri, chapter title is inspired from a quote in the book)

Eddie’s first year of college is off to a horrible start. 

This is an understatement. 

It’s barely October, and he is already transferring schools. On account of his dad dying, which means his whole life is currently being uprooted to live with his estranged mother in Forks, Washington. 

The distant relatives and family friends at the funeral tried to spin the situation into something positive, despite all of them knowing what this move meant. If his dad were here, they would have made a bingo game out of how predictable everyone was.

 _“I don’t think I could bear to stay here either…”_ Check! 

_“The change of scenery will do you good”_ Check!   
  
_“Forks? Make sure you pack extra spoons!”_ Free Space! 

_“A fresh start is important in a time like this”_ Check!

 _“You should be with family right now, to heal, together.”_ B-I-N-G-O!   
  


Like any of them had any idea what Eddie actually needed. He wanted to scream, and cry, and curse them for not letting him stay where he belonged. 

Instead, Eddie does what he was supposed to. He smiles politely at all of them, thanks them for their sympathies, and hides his pain the best he can.  
  
  
It’s raining when the plane touches down, because of course it fucking is. All Eddie has to protect himself is a hoodie, because he hasn’t really had the time to buy any rain gear, despite the constant reminders from his mother 

(You used to live in that desert too, _Sonia_ , you should know it’d be a miracle if he found an umbrella to purchase).

His mother pulls up in her car fairly quickly, so he only gets moderately damp as he gets inside. 

  
Sonia talks enough for the both of them. No one would ever call Eddie quiet, but he is not one for taking initiative, and he’s tired from a day of travel, so he just lets her talk at him for the hour-long drive to Forks. 

  
“Now Eddie-bear,” he winces at the nickname, a relic from his childhood that she cannot seem to let go of, ”your room is all set up, and the community college is on the way to the station, so I’ll be able to drop you off easy. They’ve been very understanding at work, given the circumstances.” She says, gesturing at Eddie with one hand. 

  
“Actually, I was thinking of buying a car. I already have some savings. And the insurance money-” He says. It’s the first thing he’s said beyond, “hi, good to see you.” and “my flight was fine.” 

Her eyes stay on the road, but Eddie feels the Sonia Kaspbrak(™) glare bore into all the same. 

“That should go to necessities. For taking care of you. And your tuition. If you have the money already, then you can use it. Now, were you able to get new clothes?” 

“No, S--Mom. Things were too hectic back home.” 

“Well, We can take care of you tomorrow, get some more weather appropriate clothes. We don’t want you catching a cold, you were always prone to them when you were younger.” 

“I’m sure I’ll be fine.” he mumbles. 

Sonia kept droning on about the rain and all the prevention things Eddie would need to do so he wouldn’t catch pneumonia or whatever else, but he tunes her out to watch the scenery rush by.   
  


Finally, they arrive in Forks. Eddie takes a mental note about the new coffee shop on main street. It's the first change he’s seen to the place in the many years he’s been dragged up here to visit his mother. 

The rain has paused for the moment when they pull into the driveway. Sonia still hasn’t run out of things to talk about, instructing Eddie to unpack and then wash up so he’s ready for dinner in a bit. The house is filled with pictures of Eddie at different stages of his life. Several of the photographs have both Eddie and his dad in them, and his parents’ wedding still has a prominent feature on the mantelpiece. 

Eddie’s room feels like a room in a rented cabin, sparse, with pine furniture and musty floral curtains. He takes his time unpacking his clothes, setting up his few possessions, making the space a little more his own. When he’s done, he takes a lengthy shower in the small bathroom down the hall to wash away the grime of a day of travel. 

All in all, settling into his new home takes just a little over an hour. 

Eddie spends the rest of his time before dinner checking over his schedule for school the next day, and most importantly, looking for a car on craigslist. 

He finds a bright orange pickup truck from the 90s for relatively cheap from someone in town, and sends them a message. He kills some time on tumblr, goes downstairs to have a horrifically bland meal prepared for him by Sonia, then finds the person had responded while he’d been subjected to his mother detailing the layout of the local Walmart and what great deals they’d find while shopping tomorrow. He shoots them back a message, arranging for a time to meet after his classes. By the end of the day tomorrow, he’ll have his own car, and then he can drive wherever the hell he wants, whenever.

At some point, Sonia comes in to tell him to go to bed so he’s ready for the day tomorrow, but now that’s technically _today._ He’s finally starting to doze off to these episodes of Iron Chef, needing something to keep his mind from wandering into grief territory. Outside, the trees rattle loudly against each other, worse than any city or suburb noise that Eddie grew up with. 

The next morning, Eddie glares at his phone from his blanket cocoon, waiting for the snooze timer to end and his alarm to start blaring for the third time. Before he can develop some Matilda type psychic powers to destroy his phone using only his thoughts, Sonia starts calling him down for breakfast. 

“Good morning, Eddie dear! Make sure to eat up, you’ve got a big day today.” She lays down a bowl of oatmeal at the table once he walks in. As soon as Eddie sits, she takes her seat across from him, watching him over the newspaper. 

“Do we...need to leave soon?” He asks, putting his spoon down. Eddie feels uncertain about every action he takes at the table. He feels like he’s in a play. He knows the part he’s playing, but he’s barely rehearsed, and the script keeps changing mid-scene. 

At the moment, the scene is normal, easy, as his mother smiles from above her paper. 

“Let’s aim for leaving around nine, that’ll give us plenty of time to look around.” 

Clothes shopping in Wal-mart is painfully generic. Eddie picks out the bare essentials of what he needs, and decides to leave the rest for when he can get to a proper city with real clothing stores. The shopping trip would be fine, if Sonia wasn’t using the occasion to show Eddie off like a show pig and gossip about every single person she introduces him to. He knew his mother had a vast knowledge of the goings on in town as the police secretary, but the extent scares him. 

What really gets his blood boiling during the whole thing is when he’s in the dressing room, and he overhears Sonia talking to the attendant. 

“Oh yes, he just arrived yesterday...starts school at the community college today.” 

The attendant says something Eddie can’t quite hear, but Sonia’s response is loud and clear. 

“I know, poor thing. He’s been without me for so long, and was always so fragile as a baby. I’m glad he’s here now, where I can take care of him. I don’t know what he’d do without me. I loved his father but he was always too lenient...”

Eddie decides not to tell Sonia about the car. Best to ask for forgiveness later than permission first, as they say. When she drops him off at the campus, she is insistent about finding out when to pick him up, but he manages to convince her that he’ll just call when classes are done. That he’s not sure if he’ll need to stop by the bookstore after and doesn’t want to make her sit around. She relents, but he still has to promise to send her his schedule, so she knows he’s not staying out too late. Like he’ll get up to much of any trouble on a tiny college campus. Anyway. 

Forks Community College looked more like a collection of tiny houses than it did a real school. Where were the tall all glass walls, the sculpture out front that everyone rubbed the groin of for good luck during exams? There was little indication of what building might be what, beyond small wooden signs hanging above the doors. Eddie quickly finds the one marked “Student Center”, one of the considerably more modern and larger buildings on the campus. He feels several eyes on him as he makes his way to the academic office, sizing him up. 

A student worker with the nametag “Mike” greets him at the desk of the academic office.  
“Hello! How can I help you?” he says, getting up from his chair.  
Eddie gets whiplash from Mike standing to full height

(Christ, he’s tall, how often is too often to come to the academic office-)  
  
“Uh. My name is Edward Kaspbrak, I wanted to make sure I was all registered for my classes.” 

Mike nods, leaning back down to check something on his computer, “You must be the new student then! It’s nice to meet you. Do you need a map or anything? I know the school can be confusing when you first get here.”  
  
“Yeah, that’d be great actually.” Eddie smiles nervously, averting his eyes from where they landed on the wide expanse of Mike’s shoulders. He ends up landing back on Mike’s dazzling smile, making his blood thrum loud in his ears. Better stare at a spot on the wall over his shoulder, then. 

“Looks like you’re all set, Edward! And your first class today is Shakespeare...we can head there together if you want? I’m in that class too.” Mike turns around to pull some papers out of the file cabinet next to him, and steps in front of the desk to hand them to Eddie.   
  
“Call me Eddie. And that’d be really helpful, thanks.” Eddie feels his cheeks heat up even more, as he fumbles with the paper and smiles up at Mike. 

“Cool, I’ll be done here in fifteen minutes, do you want to meet me outside the bookstore? It’s downstairs, I’m sure you saw it-”  
  
“Yeah, I have some textbooks I need to get anyway. I’ll meet you down there.” Eddie shuffles his way backwards out of the office, Mike waving at him cheerily.   
  


Eddie grabs his copies of _Romeo & Juliet _ (Ugh, really?) and _Much Ado about Nothing_ (Read it for fun before, but analyzing it in a class should be interesting) along with his bio textbook for later today that he probably should have just bought online, but he’s desperate. He can look for the rest of his books later tonight. He can feel his frustration rising as he heads to the checkout counter, kicking himself for not getting these books sooner. It’s just another way he’s making his life just a little bit harder than he needs right now. He chomps on the inside of his cheek to fight the urge to snap at the cashier. As they ring him up, Eddie notices the help wanted sign posted on the register. 

“Can I get an application too?”   
  


Mike meets him out front of the bookstore right as he says he will, having changed out of the polo that must be his work uniform into a much more relaxed flannel and a faded shirt that Eddie assumes is for a band he’s never heard of. 

“Hey! Ready to go?” 

Eddie nods, he’s feeling a little calmer now, the cashier seemed pretty certain that Eddie would get hired if he turned in his application by the end of the day, which helps him on the money front. Except now he’s starting to think about going to his new classes and-

(Oh God) 

He’d only had a week of classes before it happened. No time to settle into a routine before his whole life went to shit, sent barrelling off the interpass, buried under a manicured lawn in the desert and left to rot. 

(How much does everyone _know?)_

“What do you mean Eddie?” Mike asks, sounding far away. 

(You said that out loud, didn't you?) 

“Uhm,” Eddie starts. He thinks about maybe running away. Changing his name. Hell, maybe face transplants were an option now?  
  
“If you’re worried about catching up, don’t stress too much. All the professors here are super understanding, They give me extensions when it's harvest or lambing season at my grandpa’s farm, no problem. Plus, this class is mostly discussion, just hang with me and my friend Bill, you’ll be fine.” 

Eddie’s shoulders deflate as his eyes meet Mike’s. They are kind, and warm. It seems like maybe he knows, at least partially, and that he understands. Mike mentioning his grandfather owning the farm could mean nothing, or it could be an outstretched hand offered to say, “I get it, I’ve been there too.” Eddie shifts his books in his arms, forces a smile.

“Oh. That’s good. I’ll talk to the professor after class if there's time. Thanks for the heads up.”   
  
  
Mike was right about their professor being understanding. If anything, she was borderline _too_ understanding. Once Eddie introduced himself, Dr. White’s eyes had widened, and she emphasized to him that if he had any questions about the material, or needed any accommodations, to just email her and let her know. While she was explaining this to him, Eddie noticed out of the corner of his eye, several people trying to inconspicuously listen in. Like it or not, Eddie seemed to have become the most interesting thing on campus. He headed to the seat that Mike had saved for him, pointedly ignoring the stares from the other students. 

“Eddie, I want you to meet my friend Bill!”   
  
Bill is writing furiously in his notebook when Eddie sits down, and it takes a nudge from Mike to get him to look up. Bill does a double take at Eddie, his cheeks flushing pink. 

(What is with these people?)  
  
“Hi, Eddie.” Bill says with an uneasy smile. “How’s Forks treating you? Different from Phoenix I b-bet.” 

Eddie bites the inside of his cheek again, harder than he anticipated. He winces at the feeling. 

“I haven’t seen much of it. Besides the Walmart, but from what I can tell that’s about all there is to this place.” 

He’s shocked that Bill laughs at his remark. It makes Eddie’s chest feel warm in spite of himself.

“Well, it's got the b-best McDonald’s, by far. Honestly, if you want to d-do anything besides piss on some trees, you g-gotta go to Port Angeles or Seattle.” 

Eddie smiles back at Bill, genuinely this time, “I’ve only ever seen the airports of either, I hope I can go soon.” Bill is about to say something else, but Dr. White signals for them to start the class, and they have to turn their attention to the front of the room. While she kicks off the discussion, Bill slips Eddie a scrap of paper with both his and Mike’s phone numbers on it with the note, “let's make a group chat!” at the top. Eddie tucks it into his copy of Romeo and Juliet for safe keeping, smiling softly to himself. 

Thankfully, the class is currently focusing on Romeo and Juliet, so Eddie was able to follow along. Dr. White explained that she wanted them to look at a familiar text, and examine it more for its poetry rather than what was happening in the plot. He could already tell this would be his favorite class. 

There's a break between this class and his next class, biology, so Mike and Bill show him to the café on campus. It’s more a cafeteria than a café, with long tables and plenty of booths for students to sit and eat. The food is maybe a step above gas station quality, but Eddie is hungry enough that he’ll deal with it for today. He can make himself something to take tomorrow. Mike has already gone to grab a seat at a table with two others, who both wave as he and Bill approach. 

“Hey Eddie! I’m Patty, this is Stan. Mike was just telling us you have class together.” The girl says as soon as Eddie is at the table. She and Stan both look like teenaged librarians, with cardigans and tortoiseshell glasses and messy curly hair. Stan nods at Eddie from behind his sandwich. Patty asks about how their class went, which turns into the five of them discussing the masterpiece that is the Baz Luhrmann Romeo and Juliet when _they_ walk in. 

Eddie is facing the door, so he sees them come in, one after the other, like models. The first boy is tall and broad and soft, in a big corduroy jacket and work boots, looking like a sexy cowboy teddy bear. If teddy bears could be sexy. He is followed quickly by a short girl with bright red hair and a loud laugh, wearing a fancy peacoat that makes her look like she should be attending fashion school in New York, not community college in the middle of nowhere, Washington. 

(What is with Forks and its abundance of hot people?) 

Next to him, Bill sighs heavily as she walks through the door. There's a dull thud of someone’s shoe connecting with someone else's shin, but Eddie has all but tuned it out when the last of the trio comes inside. 

Like the other boy, he is tall and broad, 

(Look, there is nothing wrong with having a _type)_

With more of that softness around the edges, 

(Can you have a dad bod without being a dad?)   
  
His hair is borderline stylish messy and just plain “I rolled out of bed and dont give a fuck” messy. Thick framed glasses add to the charm, along with, somehow, the horrible printed shirt that peeks out from under his denim jacket. Eddie hates how badly he wants to get to know this boy. Oh he _hates_ this boy for it. The door swings wildly behind hot student #3 and he drapes himself dramatically over his companions shoulders, whispering about something conspiratory as they walk past. When Eddie turns his attention back to the table, Stan is looking at him, eyebrow cocked. 

“Please, not you too,” he says.

Eddie blinks, trying to use his doe-eyes to his advantage, “What do you mean?”   
  
“You don’t even know their names and you're already gone. Tell me, which’s your poison? Or are you like Bill and want all three? ” Stan says, his mouth turned up in the slightest of a smile. 

“I’m not. I was just-” Eddie stammers,

“He’s just messing with you-” Mike interjects.

“Not my fault they're all hot-," Bill shoots back at Stan, kicking him under the table. Eddie seems to have accidentally entered a very old argument. His curiosity gets the best of him.

“But who are they?” 

Mike subtly points over to where they sit, just talking, not having stopped to get any food. “That’s Ben Hanscom, Beverly Marsh, and Richie Tozier. There’s a lot of rumors about them, but the one that's the most likely is that Richie and Beverly were foster siblings, and then Ben is her longtime boyfriend. Since high school or something. Though there are some of us with other theories-” 

Everyone at the table groans loudly, and they yell in unison, 

“NO VAMPIRES.” 

Mike shoots back immediately, “No human being can scientifically be that hot!” Eddie chokes on his drink. 

“That’s rich coming from you, fucking Adonis!” Bill chides, patting Eddie on the back as he tries to recover. During this, Eddie sneaks a glance in the direction of the three mystery students, feeling a magnetic pull on him. 

It’s Richie Tozier. Staring at him, very intensely. 

(Maybe even glaring?) 

Eddie tries to meet his gaze, but he turns away as soon as he notices.

(What if they see you as some kind of leper?)   
  
(Don't be stupid, car accidents aren't contagious.) 

Eddie turns back to the conversation at his table, but keeps watching Richie and the others out of the corner of his eye. He’s still staring, and now that _he_ knows Eddie’s watching he’s got this goofy grin on his face that makes Eddie want to walk over and wipe it off. As Richie gets up, he throws an exaggerated wink Eddie’s way.  
  
(It's just the first day nerves that are making my stomach twist in knots, _not_ that loser and his stupid, cute face.) 

“Oh, shit.” Bill mutters next to him, grabbing his bag and standing up in a rush. “I’m gonna be late for b-bio again. Cullen’s gonna kill me.” 

Eddie looks down at his watch and back up at Bill, who’s shoving his half finished sandwich into his backpack. “Bio 110? That's where I’m going.”  
  
“So let's go! Good thing you ran into us, the science building is stupid hard to find.” 

Bill and Eddie are the last two to make it into class. Bill explains, as they walk quickly to the building on the outskirts of campus, that since the class is also their lab, the professor tends to lock the doors once he starts class. The classroom looks like Eddie’s science rooms did in high school, rather than what he expected of a lecture hall for a college course. Most of the tables have two people sitting at them already, clearly set up to be partners. There is one empty seat, and Eddie’s face drains upon seeing who’s sitting there. 

(Of fucking course it is.) 

It’s Richie Tozier. 

His demeanor has completely changed from the cafeteria. He looks, frankly, like he’s about to vomit. 

(Maybe you're just an elaborate joke to all these people, they're just buying their time with niceties until they try to get you to snap and now that he has to sit next to you he’s realizing he can’t take it-) 

Dr. Cullen coughs loudly, startling Eddie into realizing that he is still standing in front of the whole class. 

“You may take your seat next to Mr. Tozier, now.” 

When Eddie sits down, he notices that Richie’s stool is pushed all the way to the edge of the counter, with him barely hanging off the edge of it. He is pointedly not looking at Eddie. 

“Hey. I’m Eddie. It's nice to meet you.” And he sticks a hand out in greeting, 

(Because fuck you) 

Richie pinches his hand and shakes it once before retreating back to his ledge. His nose bunches up like he smells something awful. 

(You knew there was too much mustard on that sandwich, why didn't you say anything?)

“Richie. Pleasure to meet ya.” 

Eddie can’t help himself, “I can tell.” he says primly.

With that, he turns to face the front of the lecture, to diligently take notes and ignore Richie. As he gets his notebook out, he subtly checks his breath against his hand. It’s nothing offensive. 

(So what’s the problem?)   
  


Their bio class is blissfully only an hour long, and Richie bolts as soon as he’s able. Bill waits for Eddie as he checks in with the professor about coming in to the semester late, and as soon as they leave the room he pulls him aside and in a poor attempt at a whisper asks, “So, did you already know Tozier from somewhere or do you think he just hates your face that much?” 

Eddie groans, dragging his hands down his face. 

“I’d never seen him before the cafeteria. He acted like I was a dead skunk!” 

“Well, you smell f-fine to me.”Bill smiles, lopsided. Eddie isn't sure who to trust anymore. 

“Really? Even my breath? Please don’t lie to me.” 

Bill laughs good-naturally, and gestures to waft in the smell, “hit me, bro.” 

Eddie leans in, and breathes heavily right in his face. Bill breathes back, laughing again.

“Hmm..I detect a t-top note of sandwich, with an aftertaste of...what's that? Coffee? And the slightest hint of tooth...p-p-paste? You’re fine.” 

Eddie giggles, fanning his hand in front of his face, “Thanks Bill. Can’t say the same for you. You gotta lay off the onions, man, yeesh. Maybe your stank rubbed off on me.” 

Bill half heartedly tackles him, “Man, they m-make them mean down in Arizona. And after we’ve been so welcoming.” 

“It’s because my mother was a cactus.” Eddie deadpans.

“I’ve met your mother, I believe it.” Bill laughs again. It’s the most laughter Eddie has heard in weeks and he feels like he’s getting high on it. 

“Mike’s grabbing some stuff at the student center, do you want to go meet him there?” Bill asks, looking down at his phone. 

“Sure, lets go.” Eddie doesn’t have to meet the person selling the truck for another 45 minutes, anyway. 

When they get to the academic office where Mike is, Eddie walks almost smack into Richie Tozier’s back. 

(This school is officially way too small,)

“I’m sorry but it looks like none of the other science classes that fit in your schedule have room. And even if they did, we’re past the census date so you can’t really switch.” the girl at the front desk explains. Mike is nowhere to be found. 

“So can I just drop then?” he asks. There’s a streak of irritation hidden underneath the charm he’s putting on. Eddie’s stomach drops as he realizes that Richie is trying to get out of the bio class they were just in, _because of him._

(Motherfucker--!) 

Bill keeps glancing between him and Richie, waiting for someone to make the next move. 

“Well, you can. But it’s too late to get a refund unfortunately. Maybe talk to your professor about what you can do to make the class work?” she says. Richie mumbles something in response, and turns on his heel to stare at Eddie and Bill. He tips an invisible hat at them, and nearly runs out of the office, nearly colliding with Mike as he enters. 

“Bill, did you try pitching your novel to unsuspecting strangers again?” he asks, watching the doorway where Richie had just bolted. 

“It wasn’t m-me! It was Eddie!” Bill points at him like they just got caught with shards of a vase at their feet. They follow Mike out into the tiny plaza out front of the student center. 

Mike whistles low, “Damn Eddie, day one and you already made a nemesis.” 

“It’s not my fault! He thinks I smell bad!” Several people turn their heads to stare, and Eddie pulls his focus to selecting a drink from the vending machine.

“It’s okay Eddie, it's not like we’re oozing with popularity either. It almost makes me like you more.” Mike says, and Bill nods in agreement. 

(Gee, thanks?) 

“Thanks, I guess.” 

“You liked hanging out with us at lunch, yeah?” Bill asks. 

Eddie nods. 

“Then consider yourself part of the group. We’re losers, but we’re family. N-Not that I think you’re a l-loser. Just-” Bill is steadily growing beet red, as Mike tries to jump in. 

“What I think he means is that, we all got our shit, and no one wants to be alone to deal with weird, maybe-vampires who think we stink.” 

“Or just shoot the shit with.” Bill chimes in, having mostly recovered from his embarrassment now. 

“Sounds nice.” Eddie smiles, trying to let himself relax again. He’s never been very good with the talking about feelings thing, even with people he trusted. 

(But let's not think about that!) 

Mike pulls out some homework for a class, which gives Eddie the permission he needs to finish his bookstore application from earlier today. Bill convinces him to put him down as a reference, saying that he can “convince anyone of anything”.

(If you say so,) 

Time passes easy, and Eddie finds himself reluctant to leave to go look at the car. But there’s promises of hanging out tomorrow, and once Eddie gets his own car, he’ll have the freedom to spend time with friends whenever he wants. 

The truck is old, but it's been refurbished enough that it will run fine, and anything else Eddie can probably manage doing maintenance on himself. He’d helped his dad with his old car back home, so this probably won’t be much different. It makes him feel excited to have a project. He hands the old man selling it to him a check, after managing to knock the price down a bit,

(He probably just pities you, and you took advantage of that) 

But Eddie texts his mom while sitting in the cab of his new truck, letting her know he’s on the way home and she doesn’t need to get him. He shifts it into drive and feels the engine hum to life under him, and if he cries for the first time since the state troopers came and told him the news, that's no one’s business but his. 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/jockwitch)!


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